Financial aid to cover $155 of Pequod packets

USG President Matt Margolin '05 and U-Councilor Brandon Parry '06 have negotiated an increase in student financial aid so that Pequod packets will be more affordable. Starting next fall, all students receiving financial aid will see their total packages increase by roughly $155.

This represents a five-percent increase in the amount allocated for textbook expenses. Currently the average undergraduate on financial aid receives $3,100 for books, out of a total package of $23,000. As a result of the change, the total financial aid that the University awards will increase by between two and three percent.

"I really wish we could have just given people cash to go buy their Pequods with, but this will benefit them in the same way. The other way just makes it a lot simpler," Margolin said.

Student reactions to the change were positive. David Gilbert '06 said he typically spends between $60 and $70 and thought the change would be beneficial.

Jennifer Andresen '07 echoed Gilbert's praise. "Sociology and history packets are kind of a nuisance," she said. "They are monstrous and really expensive so this would help a lot."

Margolin believed he had secured cheaper Pequod prices last year and made that achievement public during his 2003 campaign for USG president. The change never went into effect and Margolin described feeling as though he had let people down. "So I went to talk to as many people in administration as possible," he said.

After several meetings with Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne and individuals in the provost's office, Margolin started lobbying the Office of Financial Aid. Eventually Margolin was successful in persuading them. However, the new arrangement did not become official until the Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid made a requisition to the provost and received approval this semester.

Prior to this arrangement Margolin and Parry had tried various methods to reduce Pequod prices. They originally worked with the University Purchasing Department to investigate if the packets could somehow be produced more cheaply.

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Their inquiry found that students spend $800,000 annually on course packets, Margolin said. Initially, the Purchasing Department thought the University could beat this price by making packets in-house. However, after subsequent research into legal and copyright fees, the department revised its estimates and told Margolin the University could not viably create the packets.

Margolin said he then asked the University to subsidize the packets but was informed that this could only be achieved by raising tuition. He complained that a lack of University transparency hampered his ability to reduce packet prices.

"No one knows how decisions are really made," Margolin said. "A lot of my time over the past two years was spent figuring that out. It is very hard to feel connected to the faculty and administration." He added, "President Tilghman has helped with these problems by introducing her town hall meetings."